WILKES-BARRE — Officers on patrol arrested a Scranton man after spotting him with suspected crack cocaine.

Police said officers encountered Colin Daniel Fogarty, 58, of Scranton at North Empire Court at 6:34 p.m. on Monday and saw him “preparing to ingest” the drug.

Officers took Fogarty into custody for possession of a controlled substance and later found he was wanted for failing to appear on a protection from abuse order violation.

Fogarty was sent to Luzerne County Correction Facility on both the PFA and drug charges.

— SARAH SCINTO

I am a communist. A socialist. A traitor and America-hater dedicated to the debasement and destruction of The Christian Nation That Affords Me The Freedom To Defile All Things True Patriots Hold Holy.

And I’m gay. A lesbian, in fact. I sit no matter why I’m in the bathroom. My wife of 16-plus years is either an accomplice or the least woke woman since June Cleaver.

I have laughed off innumerable shallow attempts to get under my skin over 20-plus years in this business. Critics too timid to use their own names may as well sign their screeds, “A. Coward.”

The latest fusillade, however, so perfectly reflected the schoolyard standards that rule political discourse in the Trump era that I felt compelled to share. In my Monday blog about the furor over American citizens — mostly black athletes — refusing to stand for the national anthem at NFL games. I dared cite the players’ Constitutional right to peaceful protest and pointed out a few actual crises Americans should recognize as genuine emergencies:

■ Texas and Florida are still reeling from the effects of massive hurricanes, millions of Americans in Puerto Rico may go without electricity and drinking water for months and half of Montana is on fire.

■ North Korea will soon be Nuclear North Korea.

■ Senate Republicans resorted to naked bribery to buy enough votes to strip health care coverage from 30 million Americans. On Tuesday, they were forced to admit defeat. Again.

Aside from stating the constitutionally obvious — that free speech is for everyone, not just those we agree with — my point was that while we jaw at each other over strangers’ reactions to the national anthem, those charged with handling our national business get a free pass.

This is just as true at the state level. Pennsylvania Sen. Mike Regan, a Republican who represents York and Cumberland counties, promised Monday to push a resolution formally condemning the NFL and players who refuse to stand for the anthem.

The NFL — a $10 billion-a-year business — must be shaking in its cleats.

State Sen. Scott Wagner, a York County Republican running for governor, boldly endorsed his colleague’s comically empty gesture.

“The flag is not a symbol of American policy or culture,” Wagner said. “It is, rather, a very real representation of the high cost of freedom and the many sacrifices made for its cause.”

No argument here, but I’d much rather Wagner, Regan and their colleagues in Harrisburg tackle the high cost of the nation’s most bloated Legislature, which can’t manage to pass a budget on time and refuses to seriously address a $2.2 billion budget deficit.

Almost every criticism of athletes refusing to stand for the national anthem references their astronomical salaries. Pro athletes are indeed well-paid, but they earn every penny. Lose a step, toss one brick too many or fall behind the curve and their careers are over.

Politicians like Regan and Wagner play a game with no scoreboard and a clock they rewind every time they find an easy target. Never mind the deficit. The Pittsburgh Steelers hate America.

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, will take the Steelers over the Pennsylvania Legislature any day, and twice on Sunday. Contact the writer: kellysworld@timesshamrock.com, @cjkink on Twitter. Read his award-winning blog at blogs.thetimes-tribune.com/kelly.

WILKES-BARRE — One child caseworker described being confronted by an angry father with a gun in Wilkes-Barre. Another spoke about the fear of just coming to work after it was firebombed. A third said families treat them like the enemy.

Caseworkers for Luzerne County Children and Youth Services shared their experiences Tuesday with Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale.

DePasquale, who recently released an 80-page “State of the Child” report following a yearlong review of children and youth agencies around the state, visited Luzerne County on his first stop in a statewide tour to address what he calls a “broken” child welfare system.

“All of our lives are valuable but some jobs are more in the line of fire than others. Not many people know that when you sign up to be a caseworker for CYS,” DePasquale said during a roundtable discussion with nearly two dozen local officials that included caseworkers, law enforcement, county officials and lawmakers.

In his report, DePasquale found the agencies are understaffed, overworked, and underpaid, leading to a huge turnover of workers that puts the state’s most vulnerable children even more at risk. DePasquale said the child-welfare system in the state is in “crisis.”

State Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, of Lehman Twp., suggested the state form an Interbranch Commission to address the issue, like the one convened following the “kids-for-cash” scandal in Luzerne County.

Corinne Carper, a Luzerne County caseworker for six years, told the auditor general families they deal with treat them as the enemy.

“Our job is to kind of be a detective and see what’s going on. They see us as a threat, not as a help,” Carper said.

Caseworker Tony Bellizia, on the job for two years, told DePasquale about a time a father waited for him with a gun at a house in Wilkes-Barre when he arrived to take the man’s kids over his drug use.

“He said, ‘You’re not taking my children,’ ” Bellizia said.

Jillian Thomas, a caseworker for eight years, said she knew the job could be dangerous, but her worries reached a new level after the county’s children and youth facility was firebombed in March, allegedly by a man mired in a child custody dispute.

“We all know we’re dealing with hostile people. We’re taking children away from them. It’s not going to go over well,” Thomas said.

Photos of the interior damage from the firebombing were displayed on a table in the conference room where the meeting was held.

Luzerne County Manager David Pedri saluted the Children and Youth workers for being so dedicated that the firebombing didn’t stop them from their important work.

“We had a firebombing right there — a couple feet from where we are sitting — and not one child lost service on that day,” Pedri said. “They were coordinating in the parking lot.”

Pedri said Children and Youth is operating with 23 open caseworker positions, which is less than the 44 unfilled spots it had in November.

DePasquale asked if that was due to the county’s finances and Pedri said it was not. Pedri said the staff shortage is due to a lack of applicants, who must take a state-administered civil service test to land the job, which starts at $29,371 per year.

“It’s not budget related,” Pedri said. “We have positions open. We have funding available.”

Contact the writer:

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com;

570-821-2055;

@cvbobkal on Twitter

Honesdale

Shopping fundraiser: Wayne Memorial Hospital Shop ’til You Drop fundraiser, Oct. 13, 7 a.m.-4 p.m., 601 Park St.; arts, crafts, clothes and wooden pieces made by WMH employees and their families.

Vendors sought: Greater Hones­dale Partnership is looking for craft vendors, specialty food vendors, antique dealers and artists/artisans for its Harvest & Heritage Days celebration, Oct. 7, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Oct. 8, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Main Street; registration forms, 570-253-5492 or ghp@visithonesdalepa.com; return forms by Friday.

Moosic

Rummage sale: Moosic Presby­terian Church rummage sale, Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 625 Main St.; proceeds benefit church youth group; Roslyn, 570-362-1923.

Old Forge   

Fall festival: Stewart Memorial United Methodist Church fall festival, Oct. 7, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 174 N. Main St.

Purse bingo: Triboro Youth Soccer designer purse bingo, Oct. 8, doors open at 11 a.m., games start at 1 p.m., Eagle McClure Hose Company 1, 375 Milwaukee Ave.; tickets before Oct. 8, $20, $25 at door; includes 20 games of bingo; food and beverages available for purchase; Christine, triboro

soccercj@outlook.com, or Stacy, stacymoakley@gmail.com.

Swoyersville

PTCC meeting: Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition meeting, Oct. 11, 7 p.m., Swoyers­ville American Legion, Shoe­maker Avenue; state representative to speak.

Throop

Class reunion: Throop alumni class reunion, Oct. 28, cocktails at 6 p.m., buffet dinner at 7, dancing and open bar until 10, Fiorelli’s, Main Street, Peckville; $50 per person; everyone who attended Throop schools is invited; class of 1967 will be honored; reserve by Oct. 21, Betty Chimock, 570-489-4146.

Pork/sauerkraut dinner: First United Methodist Church of Throop pork and sauerkraut dinner, Oct. 21, take outs available 2-4 p.m., family-style servings, 4-7 p.m., 136 Charles St.; adults, $10; children 12 and under, $5; tickets, Marilyn, 570-489-3352, or Gladys, 570-489-4037.

CLIPBOARD ITEMS may be emailed to yesdesk@timessham

rock.com or mailed to Clipboard, c/o YES!Desk, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503. YES!Desk, 570-348-9121.

Unemployment ticked up uniformly across Northeast Pennsylvania last month.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton metro area saw unemployment rise one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.5 percent, according to numbers out Tuesday from the state Department of Labor & Industry.

Economists tend not to dwell on month-to-month changes. Unemployment is still down seven-tenths of a point compared to last year.

The state rate declined one-tenth of a point to 4.9 percent. The national rate rose by the same amount to 4.4 percent.

An August jobless numbers jump is nothing new, said state industry and business analyst Steven Zellers.

In fact, the same thing happened last year in all seven Northeast counties — Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming —with the unemployment rate rising by one-tenth of a point — except Lackawanna County, where jobless numbers rose two-tenths of a point.

“The big story would be that, year-over-year, everything is still trending down,” Zellers said.

The State College metro area had the lowest August unemployment rate in the state at 3.4 percent. Johnstown reported the highest, 6.2 percent.

The local labor force shrunk in August, dropping 1,100 people, or less than 1 percent, to 276,300; 300 people jumped on the unemployment rolls.

“That number increasing a little bit is not all that strange because you may have people just working for the summer,” Zellers said. “They’re going back to school, or they’re households where the kids are leaving whatever temp job they may have had to go back to school.”

Compared to last year, however, the labor force has shed 4,200 workers, “which would be a contributing factor of the unemployment rate decreasing,” said Keystone College economist Dana Harris.

“But the good thing is that we didn’t lose that many jobs. The employed only decreased by 1,900,” she said.

Of jobs located within the area, only the retail sector added any from July to August, tacking on 300, according to numbers not seasonally adjusted.

Over the year, transportation and warehousing were the biggest gainers, up 2,200 jobs from this time last year.

Contact the writer:

joconnell@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131;

@jon_oc on Twitter

Scranton’s $6 million wish list for federal block grants for 2018 far outpaces the $2.8 million expected.

The city annually gets federal Housing and Urban Development funds in three categories to help low- to moderate-income individuals or areas. An allocation process determines how much money goes to areas such as paving, homeless shelters, homeowner assistance and blight removal, to name a few. Applicants could receive all, some or none of their request.

“Block grants are important to the whole city,” said Michael Hanley, chief executive officer of United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania. “They help the whole community in so many different ways.”

The nonprofit UNC seeks a total of $146,000 in four grants, for Project Hope day camp for UNC students and low-income children, Scranton Council of Literacy Advance (SCOLA) adult literacy program, Bellevue Youth Program and homeless prevention services.

The nonprofit Women’s Resource Center seeks a total of $56,000 in four grants, for safe housing programs for victims of domestic and sexual violence.

“To be able to have adequate funds to serve victims of domestic and sexual violence and their families is very important,” said WRC Executive Director Peg Ruddy.

Next, the city Office of Economic and Community Development will recommend allocations to City Council, which will get final say over how to divvy up the funds. Council last week introduced a Courtright administration ordinance to implement the block grants.

On Thursday, council will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall on the funding requests, and then vote later Thursday, during the 6:30 p.m. regular meeting, on advancing the ordinance on second reading.

The ordinance then would get tabled for a mandatory review period, before coming back to council for adoption in November.According to a public notice in

The Times-Tribune, the funding categories and requests include:

Community Development Block Grant: $2.2 million expected; $5,394,375 sought in 23 requests. City government items make up most of this category, such as $1.5 million for road paving, $800,000 for blight demolitions and $500,000 for economic development, to name a few. Two of the larger non-city government requests include $295,000 from the General Theodore J. Wint VFW Post 25 in North Scranton toward creating a Scranton Veterans Memorial Park & Monument on the grounds of Scranton High School and $200,000 from North Scranton Neighborhood Association for improvements to McLain Park on Rockwell Avenue.

The HOME Investor Partnership Program for homeowner assistance: $350,000 expected; $387,500 sought in five requests, all from OECD, for housing programs.

The Emergency Solutions homeless assistance program: $230,000 expected; $235,268 sought in 10 requests.

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9100 x5185;

@jlockwoodTT on Twitter

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man accused of fatally striking a pedestrian then heading to a bar for a drink has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

Thirty-five-year-old Joshua Stockman, of South Whitehall Township, was sentenced Tuesday to three to 10 years on a hit-and-run charge. The Morning Call reports that Judge Kelly Banach said he left 32-year-old Ruby Marrero of Allentown lying like "garbage in the street."

Police say Marrero was walking to an Allentown corner store when she was hit in February. She died a week later.

Investigators say Stockman drove off after hitting her, ditched his vehicle and went to a bar. He later turned himself in.

Stockman pleaded guilty in August. His lawyer said he has apologized to Marrero's family.

GREENFIELD TWP. — The search for a Lakeland High School senior who did not resurface after a boating accident on Newton Lake early Tuesday afternoon resumed early this morning.

The 17-year-old girl, whose name is not being released, was boating on the lake with friends Tuesday when she fell off the boat around 2 p.m. Rescue and recovery crews spent nearly eight hours searching the lake Tuesday for her body before calling off the search at 9:42 p.m.

Rescue crews initially said the boat may have struck the girl but the incident is under investigation by the state police and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

This morning, a handful of area residents lined a beach on the lake and watched as the first recovery boats searched the calm water. The water is about 35 feet deep at its deepest point and there is limited visibility.

Search boats used sonar technology to scan the lake to try to locate the girl, said Capt. Bill White of Dive Rescue Specialists in Scott Twp.

Greenfield Twp. Firefighters permitted only immediate members of the missing girl’s family and first responders to approach the area where rescue boats launched.

Josh Dilts, a volunteer with the American Red Cross and a close friend of the family, provided food and water to searchers on scene.

“They can’t bring themselves to leave,” Dilts said of the family.

Check back for updates.

A Hughestown man arrested in August for assaulting his wife in a Dunmore hotel room now faces more severe charges after a detective in the case learned he broke her cheekbone, borough police said Wednesday.

Police initially arrested Cordair Bethea, 30, on Aug. 28 on allegations he punched his wife, Colleen Bethea, several times during a dispute at the Scottish Inn on the O’Neill Highway. Their apartment in Luzerne County had been condemned and the pair were living in the Dunmore motel.

At a Sept. 6 preliminary hearing, police again met with Colleen Bethea at the Lackawanna County Courthouse and learned the assault was more serious than initially thought.

The assault caused a hairline fracture by her left lower eye orbit and bleeding behind the eye, she told them. She also explained she held her 3-month-old child in her arms at the time of the assault and also tried to call her father.

In that days that followed, police listened to a voicemail on her father’s cell phone. The audio message picked up a portion of the assault. Police said a male’s voice, which Colleen Bethea identified as her husband’s, said “I’m going to kill you.”

Based on the severity of the injury, the threat made on her life and the fact that she said she held an infant in her arms during the attack, investigators amended the charges.

The original set of criminal charges were withdrawn at a preliminary hearing Wednesday and a new, more serious, complaint was levied against him.

Magisterial District Judge Theodore J. Giglio arraigned Bethea on charges of aggravated assault and child endangerment, both felonies, and misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct, simple assault and terroristic threats. Bethea’s bail was increased from $20,000 to $75,000 and a preliminary hearing was set for 11 a.m. Wednesday next week.

Bethea remained jailed at Lackawanna County Prison.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9144; @jkohutTT on Twitter

GREENFIELD TWP. — A man accused of burglarizing township and Archbald businesses now faces additional charges.

On Wednesday, Magisterial District Judge Theodore Giglio arraigned Dana Skeen, 36, 16 Spencer St. , Carbondale, on burglary and related charges stemming from a break-in at Jonal’s Lawn and Garden in Greenfield Twp. sometime late July 11 or early July 12. Skeen is accused of taking cash, a mini custom motorcycle and $6,000 worth of silver coins from the property, troopers said.

Skeen is also accused of burglarizing R.S. Kurilla Transmission in Archbald and Leo’s Garage in Greenfield Twp. on July 24. He has been held in Lackawanna County Prison since Sept. 16.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 4.

— CLAYTON OVER

BUSHKILL — John Donahue, superintendent of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, will retire Dec. 3, capping a 38-year career in the federal parks system.

Donahue has been in his current role since 2003. He previously was superintendent of Big Cypress National Preserve and De Soto National Memorial, both in Florida; George Washington Birthplace National Monument in Virginia; and Thomas Stone National Historic Site in Maryland.

During his tenure, Donahue wrote legislation, regulations, policies and numerous articles, and he has represented the U.S. at national events, according to the parks system. His areas of expertise include wildlife, cultural landscapes and landscape-scale connectivity and restoration.

—KYLE WIND

SCRANTON — U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17, Moosic, announced Tuesday that the Women’s Resource Center in Scranton was awarded a $350,000 Transitional Housing Assistance grant through the Department of Justice.

The center provides comprehensive services for female and male victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking in Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties.

It will collaborate with its partners and use the grant money to provide transitional housing and support services to survivors of the aforementioned offenses who are homeless or without permanent housing.

— ­STAFF REPORT

MARRIAGE LICENSES

■ David Frommert and Jacqueline Jasinski, both of Madison Twp.

■ Vicente Ciprian-Rivera and Carmen A. Santana-Esturbide, both of Scranton.

■ Brian Anthony Zeoli Jr. and KC Lynn Bonacci, both of Peckville.

■ Randall Scott Sashko and Amber Mary Gurke, both of Archbald.

■ Zachary Edward Del Guercio, Kennesaw, Ga., and Maggie Elizabeth Perry, Dunmore.

■ Rebecca Frances Smith and Andrew Kilian Mahler, both of Scranton.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

■ John, Joseph, Gregory and Michael Namyak Jr., Donna Myers and Lori Buckley, and Mary Namyak, by and through her attorney-in-fact, John Namyak, to C. Clam Enterprises LLC, Peckville; a property at 321-23 Third Ave., Jessup, for $75,000.

■ Keith A. Kesler Sr., also known as Keith A. Kessler Sr., and Marian Kesler, also known as Marian Kessler, to Xiuxia Cui, Pennsylvania; a property at 638 Duncan St., Scranton, for $32,000.

■ Sara L. Woolsey, now known as Sara L. Sauers, and Robert Sauers III, Scott Twp., to Amy Valentukonis, Lackawanna County; a property at 808

Cen­ter St., Throop, for $140,500.

■ Robert and Phyllis Potosky, Old Forge, to Nezir Alic, Scran­ton; a property at 311 S. Keyser Ave., Old Forge, for $50,750.

DIVORCE DECREES

■ Amanda DeLuccie v. Ryan DeLuccie

■ Colleen Heckman v. David Heckman

■ Ashley Torbeck v. Kevin Torbeck

■ Kathleen Lavelle v. Keith Morris

FEDERAL TAX LIENS

■ Riley Appraisal Services Inc., 184 Knapp Road C, Clarks Summit; $11,846.53.

■ Global Risk Management LLC, 120 N. Abington Road, Clarks Green; $50,497.65.

ESTATE FILED

■ Joseph Karl Cucura, 543 Washington Ave., Jermyn, letters of administration to Joseph Nicholas Cucura, same address.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

SCRANTON — The Scranton Parking Authority did not hold its quarterly meeting Tuesday because of a lack of a quorum.

Only authority Chairman Joseph Matyjevich showed up for the 6 p.m. meeting at City Hall. The meeting would be rescheduled, said.

Authority members Tom Borthwick, Sandy Corby and Michael Salerno were absent, as was Executive Director/Solicitor Todd Johns. The remaining seat on the five-member authority board is vacant.

In December, the authority set quarterly public meetings for 2017 for Jan. 31, May 23, Sept. 26 and Dec. 19, each at 6 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall.

- JIM LOCKWOOD

SCRANTON

Geisinger Community Medical Center plans to adjust lot lines on 80 acres off Stafford Avenue containing the Mountain View Care Center.

The tract has a 30-acre lot containing the center and a 50-acre wooded lot. The dividing line cuts through the center’s driveway and parking spaces. The adjusment would create a 13-acre lot, with the center centralized on it, and a 67-acre lot.

A Planning Commission hearing on the subdivision was not held Wednesday because of a lack of a quorum. Chairman James Thomas and Jay Murphy attended, but Kathryn Borer, Martin Turi, Thomas Galella and Anthony Ismael were absent. The seventh seat is vacant.

— JIM LOCKWOOD

MARRIAGE LICENSES

■ Gary Jay Jarocha and Lisa Michele Stillwagon, both of South Abington Twp.

■ Renee Nicole Gabriel and Joseph Jeremy McTague, both of Scranton.

■ Bryan David Dixon and Meghan Tierney, both of Scranton.

■ Sidney Franklin Moore and Destiny Kaitlyn Hutchinson, both of Scranton.

■ Michele Marie Pousley and Victor Saul Arenas-Mamani, both of Scranton.

■ Duanggamol Suratsombat and Charles Stuart Georgia, both of Scranton.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

■ Olga Febish, Madison Twp., to Paul William and Jaide Renee Hartmann, Tobyhanna; a property at 855 Becks Crossing Road, Madison Twp., for $137,800.

■ Boston Land Company Inc., South Abington Twp., to Timothy J. and Joanne Farley, South Abington Twp.; a property in South Abington Twp. for $258,000.

■ Richard C. Jr. and Catherine E. Marquardt, Clarks Green, to Marlene Muklewicz, Lackawanna County; a property at 416 Colburn Ave., Clarks Summit, for $117,000.

■ William M. and Jamielyn Pabst, Roaring Brook Twp., to Michael F. Cummings Jr., Dunmore; a property at 2128 Jefferson Ave., Dunmore, for $100,000.

■ Jeffrey and Lisa J. Stranieri, Clarks Summit, to Poe Management LLC, Fort Collins, Colo.; a property at 2116-2118 Farr St., Scranton, for $87,500.

■ Raymond J. and Carol A. Bryan to Vijay and Ellen S. Venugopal; a property on Stag Court, Covington Twp., for $25,000.

■ Evelyn K. Padmore, also known as Evelyn W. Padmore, Dunmore, by her agent Joseph A. O’Brien, to Alexander Tinnikov, Cliffside Park, N.J.; two parcels in Dunmore for $98,000.

■ Gregg and Sara Pencek to Kimberly Wascavage; a property at 501 Von Bergen St., Old Forge, for $209,900.

■ John Fisher, Laflin, to Thomas Hrynkiw, Hanover Twp.; two parcels in Old Forge for $120,000.

■ Kevin F. Gibbons to Stanley J. and Terrie Yanoski; a property at 527 Susquehanna Ave., Olyphant, for $84,000.

■ Robert Ferri and Angela M. Wright to John J. and Marie Francine Quinn; a property on Madison Ave., Old Forge, for $265,000.

■ Mary Vanston, Dickson City, to John J. and Kimberly A. Bartkovsky, Spring Brook Twp.; a property on Oak Drive and Jefferson Boulevard. for $275,000.

■ Michael McMurrer, by his agent Michelle Caron, to Sid Birch; a property at 500 Knapp Road, Clarks Summit, for $35,000.

■ Anne Kearney, by her agent Patrick Charles Kearney, to Amy E. McCarthy; a property at 509 Glenburn Road, Clarks Summit, for $172,600.

■ Richard J. and Maria J. Miller, Carbondale, to Danielle E. Praefke, Carbondale; two parcels in Carbondale for $107,450.

■ Bayview Loan Servicing LLC to Kenneth Sandrowicz; a property at 1205 Court St., Scranton, for $37,100.

■ Arlene M. and Dennis Kutch, Jermyn, and Linda Cucura, Jessup, to Mark Bruno and Amy Witko, as joint tenants with rights to survivorship, Jermyn; two parcels in Mayfield for $80,000.

■ James and Barbara Gayzik, Toms River, N.J., Luigi and Peggy Gayzik DiCairano, Belvidere, N.J., and Jane Gayzik, also known as Jane A. Trabucco, Lyndhurst, N.J.; to Donald Caines, Dunmore; a property at 608 Maplewood Ave., Dickson City, for $150,000.

■ Joseph and Beverly Bernosky, Jermyn, to John T. Hall, Scott Twp.; two parcels in Scott Twp. for $90,000.

ESTATES FILED

■ Ethel M. Golo, 950 Morgan Highway, Clarks Summit, letters of administration to Robert F. Rose, 2736 N.W. 77th Blvd., Apt. 359-M6S, Gainesville, Fla.

■ Mary F. Richard, 2500 Adams Ave., Scranton, letters of administration to Stephanie Richards, 16734 Morrison St., Encino, Calif.

■ Frank Gretz, letters testamentary to Gloria A. Andrew, 1121 Sleepy Hollow Road, Pennsburg.

■ Joseph Summa, 703 Cooney St., Dunmore, letters testamentary to Louis DiMattio, 205 Ross St., Dunmore.

LAWSUIT

■ Adrian Gonzalez, 205 Tulip Circle, Clarks Summit, v. Kaitlin Fletcher, 1738 Newton-Ransom Blvd., Clarks Summit, seeking an amount in excess of the jurisdictional limit regarding arbitration referral by local rule plus interest and costs for injuries suffered June 20, 2016, during an automobile accident on Routes 6 and 11; Edwin A. Abrahamsen, attorney.

BENCH WARRANTS

Judge Vito Geroulo has issued the following bench warrants for failure to appear on fines and costs:

■ Martin Gilbride, 1020 Cooper St., Scranton; $3,719.27.

■ Andres Rodriguez, 1003 Gibbons St., Scranton; $489.50.

■ Jaleesa Robbins, 233 Prescott Ave., Scranton; $584.

■ Anthony N. Polanin, 321 Hickory St., Peckville; $2,582.50.

■ George J. Peters, 529 N. Rebecca Ave., Scranton; $2,582.50.

■ Amy R. Longworth, 218 S. Filmore Ave., Scranton; $4,617.81.

■ Sharice Gonder, 723 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre; $744.50.

■ Nina Solivan, 59 William St., Carbondale; $2,636.03.

■ Anthony J. Sandor, 1570 Happy Valley Circle, Newnan, Ga.; $1,350.

■ Reynaldo Sanchez Marrero, 1560 N. 10th St., Reading; $1,350.

■ Jamie Zotter, 149 Belmont St., Carbondale; $429.

■ Justin Williams, 261 Poplar St., Dickson City; $1,412.50.

■ Kenneth John Shaffer Jr., 987 Route 11 South, Nicholson; $1,397.

■ Lori A. McCarthy, 1621 Capouse Ave., Apt. 7, Scranton; $114,247.04.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

SCRANTON

For the fourth day in a row, the region broke another heat record.

Wednesday’s high of 90 degrees at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport “smashed” the previous high of 85, set in 1998.

With four straight days of temperatures hitting 90 degrees, September had more 90-degree days than any month this year, said Dave Dombek, Accuweather senior meteorologist.

“To get four days of records on the high or low side is a feat,” he said. “But after four days of record highs, the coldest parts of Northeast Pennsylvania may have frost come Sunday morning.”

Fall weather will return to the region today, with a forecasted high of 69 degrees.

— SARAH HOFIUS HALL

DUNMORE

FNCB Bank’s parent company welcomed three new board members, bringing the number of directors to 12, and the number of DeNapleses on the board to four.

The new members to join the board are attorney Joseph L. DeNaples, Dr. Vithalbhai D. Dhaduk and Kathleen McCarthy Lambert, an owner and chief financial officer of McCarthy Tire Service Co., FNCB said in a news release Wednesday.

Joseph DeNaples is the son of board chairman Dominick L. DeNaples, nephew of the former chairman and current board member Louis A. DeNaples and cousin of Dr. Louis A. DeNaples Jr.

FNCB also announced the formation of a community advisory board with its members to hail from Northeast Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. Members will serve as community and business liaisons and advise the board of directors.

— JON O’CONNELL

Lackawanna County did not act willfully when it improperly denied three sheriff’s deputies overtime pay due, a federal appeals court ruled.

The decision from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a federal judge’s ruling in a civil case Pittston Attorney Cynthia Pollick filed on behalf of Michael Souryavong, Edwin Velez and Nelson Rolon.

The men sued the county in 2013, alleging they were denied overtime pay for hours they worked in the sheriff’s department and other county departments. The county conceded it underpaid them, but maintained it was an unintentional error caused by a payroll glitch.

A jury awarded the men a combined total of $5,588 following a trial in November 2015. Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo later doubled the amount to $11,176, after finding the county did not take affirmative steps to comply with federal overtime law.

Pollick appealed the ruling, arguing her clients were entitled to additional money because the county willfully violated the law.

The 3rd Circuit Court rejected the argument. The court said that while the payroll glitch could be seen as an example of “government morass,” there was no evidence that the error was intentional.

The court also upheld Caputo’s ruling that Pollick was entitled to $55,853 in attorneys fees compared to the $166,162 she sought. The court agreed with Caputo that the fees sought were excessive and not properly documented.

Contact the writer:

tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137;

@tmbeseckerTT on Twitter

BUSHKILL

John Donahue, superintendent of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, will retire Dec. 3, capping a 38-year career in the federal parks system.

Donahue has been in his current role since 2003. He previously was superintendent of Big Cypress National Preserve and De Soto National Memorial, both in Florida; George Washington Birthplace National Monument in Virginia; and Thomas Stone National Historic Site in Maryland.

During his tenure, Donahue wrote legislation, regulations, policies and numerous articles, and he has represented the U.S. at national events, according to the parks system. His areas of expertise include wildlife, cultural landscapes and landscape-scale connectivity and restoration.

—KYLE WIND